Editorial: Trademark would protect Hatch chile

The label on the front of the can is as clear as can be. In bright red letters, it proudly declares that "Hatch" chopped green chiles are inside.

It's not until you spin the can around and read the small print on the back of the label that you discover the ugly truth: "Product of Mexico" it reads.

We understand that product labels are designed to show what's inside in the best light possible. The Whitman Samplers box may have French writing on it, but we know the chocolates are really made in Colorado, Kansas and Texas. But in this case, the packaging seems intentionally deceptive.

Unless the company is owned by a family named Hatch — and it's not, owner Steve Dawson once lived in Albuquerque, but now lives in Georgia — referring to chile from Mexico as Hatch chile seems to cross the line.

The state Legislature has passed laws in recent years designed to give labeling protection for locally produced products, but they lack a true enforcement mechanism. So some growers in the Hatch Valley — defined as extending from the Caballo Dam in the north to just short of the Leesburg Dam in the south — have formed the Hatch Chile Association and will pursue federal protection through the U.S. Patent and Trademark office.

If approved, it would allow "Hatch chile" to be a trademark that could only be used to market products that were certified to have come from the Hatch Valley.

"We just feel like the main goal is to defend fourth- and fifth-generation farmers in the valley," said Duane Gillis, president of the board and a fourth-generation Hatch chile farmer. "We're very proud of our legacy and protecting it and we should prevent people from registering Hatch as a trademark."

There is a reason why a company selling chiles grown in Mexico would want to label the product as Hatch chiles. It is because of the reputation built over the decades through the hard work of Gillis and his ancestors. But that reputation can be tarnished if other products are allowed to carry the Hatch brand.

"Farmers have been growing chile here in the Hatch Valley for four-plus generations and, as everyone knows, Hatch chile is famous the world over," farmer Preston Mitchell said. "We are incredibly blessed to be a part of the history and heritage of the valley and think consumers deserve to be able to tell if the chile they are eating is really grown here in the valley."

If approved, not only would chiles grown in Mexico no longer be able to be sold as Hatch chiles, but a new trademark would be created to let both grocery shoppers and restaurant diners know that they are getting the real thing.

The intent is not to stomp out competition. There will still be chiles imported from Mexico and sold in the United States every year. But for those who want real Hatch chile, that information should be available on the front of the label — not in the small print on the back.